With the arrival of new NIL (name, image and likeness) regulations in the NCAA, the world of college athletics is changing forever. I, for one, believe it will be to the detriment of all college sports and athletes.
NIL will allow college student athletes to begin cashing in on their fame by accepting endorsement deals.
The change comes after years of detractors complaining that colleges made millions off of sporting events, while the athletes “got nothing.” Of course this argument, which eventually won out, ignores the fact that these athletes actually got a free education, room and board. Most college athletes get better scholarship packages than their academic-only counterparts. But it is what it is.
The biggest question about NIL at this point is about the status of those players who sign these deals. NCAA regulations require all college athletes to maintain amateur status. Historically this even means that college athletes have not been able to participate in charity sporting events where cash and other items were given out to the winners.
Now they can take money for playing?
What we are going to see happen is that bigger colleges with winning histories are going to use NIL to their advantage. Alabama, one of the greatest college football programs in history, is going to “arrange” NIL deals for players debating between their school and other programs Smaller, less popular schools, are going to find themselves at more of a disadvantage when it comes to recruiting.
We likely wont see a big change to how this will affect high school sports, although there was one particular case that popped up in Owensboro last week.
Senior Gavin Wimsatt from Owensboro High School led his Red Devils to state last season. In April he committed to Rutgers University for the fall of 2022.
On Friday night, following a 49-42 victory over Daviess County, Wimsatt announced that he was done. He had enough high school credits to graduate, so he was leaving school early and heading to Rutgers, where he is eligible to suit up for the
Wimsatt was currently ranked as a 4-star prospect and is the No. 11 overall quarterback in his class in the country and is the No. 1 overall football player in the state of Kentucky. He was the favorite to win the 2021 Mr. Football award.
But the lure of a alleged six figure NIL deal led the senior to abandon his team mid-way through the football season.
Wimsatt is not alone, he just made the move in showboat form by pulling out halfway through the season. The number one quarterback prospect in the country, Ohio State quarterback commit Quinn Ewers, decided to skip his senior season to sign a $1.4 million NIL deal last month.
At least Ewers skipped his season, he didn’t start the year, only to leave his teammates and coaches in his dust.
More of this type of activity is to come as we move into the era of paid college athletes. These children, because that’s what they are, are not doing anything “wrong”, they are just taking advantage of the rules the adults created for them.
And while these kids might cash in on their success, it cheapens the world of sports.
The National Football League has a rule that states players cannot be drafted until at least three years after their high school graduation. But now NIL allows students to leave in the middle of the semester to chase the money to college.
I don’t watch professional sports because they’ve all developed a huge problem with identity athletics. They are all about flashy “look at me” plays. College was, largely, still pure. They still relied on team play instead of individualism.
No more. With players able to sign million dollar endorsement contracts before they even enroll in college, the NCAA will now be filled with players who need to be in the spotlight to get bigger and better deals.